ANA Discussion Forum
Treatment Options => Microsurgical Options => Topic started by: Brad1230 on August 20, 2014, 11:48:26 am
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Hello Everyone,
I received the news yesterday that now 2.5 years post gamma knife my AN continues to grow. I have been scheduled for surgery in January of 2015 and i am trying to plan how long i will have to be off work. It looks like the surgerty will be translab based on the previous gamma knife treatment and the fact that i have little functional hearing left in my AN ear. I am in sales and deal with larger national accounts, how long typically will i have to be off work? How long typically will it be before i can drive again? I have researched this on the web and i am not finding out much. My Dr. told me i will probably be in the hospital 3-4 days if all goes well, beyond that i am not sure of the recovery times.....
Thanks for all of your help with this question!
Brad
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well i am also going for translab in oct. so i am yet to go thru my recovery period. But my doc's told me that 4 to 6 weeks rest is minimum. I will be bale to drive after 2 weeks but i should not so i feel i gonna take rest and wont drive untill 8 weeks.
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Hi Brad .....
So sorry that your AN has continued to grow post-gamma knife.
In answer to your question on the typical recovery times for translab surgery, there are so many variables with individual patients, it really is impossible for anyone to predict. Even the medical people are only giving educated, average, guesses. Some of the variables are: general health of patient, age of patient, any other complicating issues such as previous radiation or surgical treatment, whether the vestibular nerve has already ceased to send signals, length of surgical time, etc. etc.
In my case, I had retrosigmoid approach surgery for my first removal. My case is a bit unusual in that both of my vestibular nerves have been destroyed (first one had apparently been destroyed in childhood with radium treatments). Therefore, when I first tried to stand up after the initial surgery, it was disaster. Long story short, I had months of vestibular rehab before I was comfortable walking without a cane or someone's arm. I did, however, resume driving after about two months (it was not a problem when I was not trying to maintain my balance).
Three years later an apparent fragment regrew (very rare), necessitating a second surgery. To avoid as much scar tissue as possible, translab approach was done on the second surgery. This time my brain had already compensated for the missing vestibular nerve function and I recovered very rapidly. Nine days after surgery I was walking around downtown Los Angeles. Probably less than a month later I was back driving a car and generally back to my pre-surgery state.
Back to your question: I certainly would have Plans A and B in place in case you need more time for recovery than expected. If you are generally healthy and do not have major balance adjustments to make post-op, nor any unforeseen complications, six weeks is generally the suggested recovery time for most major surgeries ..... and this is major surgery.
Best wishes and let us know how things are going.
Clarice
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I had translab on Nov 20 was back to work Jan 20. Each case is different, but I was generally told 6-8 weeks. Best of luck.
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Hi,
I was told 6-8 weeks after translab. I was walking 3 miles a day 3 weeks post, but that's all I could do other than sleep. I drove 6 weeks post. That was nerve wracking. Not so much that I couldn't drive, just the danger of a bad driver making a sudden movement that I would not have had a good reaction time to.
We are all different, I would suggest you don't push yourself to resume normal activity to quickly. As my doctor so eloquently put it post op when I told him about all of my plans to resume activities, "It is although You have been blindsided by a semi truck, take it easy."
Your brain will need rest. I suggest you deal with one thing at a time. Fatigue (mind, not body) has been one of my biggest battles post op. Be easy on yourself and sleep. Good luck.
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Hi Brad,
There have been many examples of people having tumours continue to swell beyond 2 years, and then the tumour shrinks. I would ask for a second opinion on whether surgery is necessary.
There have been cases where tumours enlarge for 4 years before shrinking.
If you have one of those surgery would be unnecessary..
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http://www.anausa.org/smf/index.php?topic=20294.0
Check out Windys post
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Seems like you have decided on surgery Brad. Best of luck and keep us posted.
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Brad,
I too had procedures prior to a translab, however, mine were microsurgical. Also, I was concerned about my career. I was in a transition at that time having just started a new position with a company. Plan A was to be back at work within one month of surgery.
I ended up using plan C, which was spending time off and on for six weeks at the hospital to resolve a CSF leak. My surgery was at the end of January and I didn't go back to full time work until early April.
As was stated in an earlier post outcomes vary widely but this was mine.
Best of luck.
Tim
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I had translab July 17 and went back to work (office job) four weeks later. I drove after a couple of weeks just in town and then three weeks later on the highway. Just felt off balance to me when turning my head back and forth. I am 52 now and I was not going to let this thing ruin my life. I have done well, only had Tylenol in the ICU and never anything stronger. I already got my abutment for the BAHA and will get the processor in late Jan. The SSD is sometimes an annoyance but nothing that I couldn't deal with. I had lost hearing already before the surgery to the point it was pretty much gone. I have no residual effects from the surgery but a dry eye and a couple of sore spots on my face, from damage to the nerve I would guess. Keeping in good shape if possible and a positive attitude will definitely help you. I make fun of myself all the time. I think it freaks people out. haha. Good luck to you!
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Hi Brad...
I had Translab surgery 6+ weeks ago on October 27 to remove a 2.8cmx2.6cm left AN that was pressing on my brain stem and cerebellum.
The surgery was an unqualified success - I was home in 3 days and was driving 1 week post-op with no problem. I have had no pain, no headaches, no balance or dizziness and no facial or eye issues. Although I am now SSD, I had lost most of my hearing before the surgery so that has not required any additional adjustment. So in short, my recovery has been very uneventful.
I was back to all of my pre-op activities at 3 weeks post-op.
I hope that your recovery is equally uneventful. Good luck!
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I too am in sales..I do travel. I am 2weeks post op and continue to be proactive ..I still havnt drove yet but am getting the itch..I continue to get stronger..my doctors told me 4weeks back to work...so I know how you feel and knowledge is power..
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My very qualified surgeons told me it would be six to eight weeks before I could get back to work. However, the tumor caused more damage than hoped and six months later, I've decided not to reopen my small business this spring. I live in a very rural town and I'm not able to access the post therapies such as PT and OT. However, after reading the many posts on this site and talking to "one-of-us" I have decided to do whatever it takes to get PT & OT, and I'm confident these therapies are going to make a huge difference.
The only thing that's clear is that recovery can be vastly different. I have come to understand that the placement of the tumor is a major factor. Mine was compressing the brain stem more than anything else. So I recommend reading several posts and emailing your surgeon as many questions as possible. If I had it to do all over again, I would have taken the same path as another patient on this site and been proactive about lining-up all the vestibular therapy I could get right after the surgery. Also, I would have scheduled getting an eyelid implant as soon as possible (I have facial paralysis that probably will heal but I'm not counting weeks as much as months on that).
Be well!!!!!